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Plant ysgol ym Mhrydain yn portreadu ASau fel dynion gwyn cefnog

06 October 2009

When pupils from three primary schools were asked to draw what they thought an MP looked like, the majority thought a typical MP was male, white and well-off. 

Eighty-seven pupils from Bournemouth, Brighton and Manchester took part in a fun experiment for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to coincide with the political party conferences in their towns.

After discussing the role of government in society, three in four of the portraits they drew were of male politicians and only one boy drew a female politician. This is a higher ratio of men to women than is in parliament today, where fewer than one in five MPs are women.

Only eight of the portraits were an ethnic minority, and only one of those was a female.  At nine percent of all the portraits, this is higher than in parliament where less than three percent of MPs are ethnic minorities.

One in three of the students identified their politician as living in a mansion or driving a luxury car, indicating that they thought MPs are relatively well-off. 

The experiment was conducted for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to focus attention on gaining better representation of women, ethnic minorities, disabled people and people from a diverse range of backgrounds, in parliament.  

The pupils have been sharing their ideas with Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and high-profile politicians from each of the political parties. Joining the discussion were Lynne Featherstone MP (Liberal Democrat); Anne Begg MP and Sadiq Khan MP (Labour); Caroline Spelman MP (Conservative). 

Portraits drawn by the three schools that took part in the project are being displayed during party conference season on the Commission’s website.

Research into how MPs entered their career, Pathways to Politics, is due to published by the Commission in November and the results will be presented to the Speaker's Conference on representation in Parliament.

Trevor Phillips, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said:

“We've had a lot of fun admiring the work of our young political sketchers, but there is a serious point to be made here at the start of the new political term - Parliament still doesn't get top marks for representation.

"It is encouraging that the leaders of the three main political parties are making an effort to tackle these issues, but they need to make more progress if our Parliament is to look like the country it represents. We will be publishing research in the autumn about the barriers that get in the way of aspiring politicians. 

"As more MPs announce their retirement over the coming months and leaders have decisions to make around late selections, now is the time for parties to take action and select from a wider pool of talent."

Describing the person they had drawn, pupils wrote: -

Chantelle Hodgson, Moordown St John’s Primary School, Bournemouth, said "My MP is a man because I think men can stand up and talk better than women can.  My MP looks like this because he would have to look quite posh to go to the House of Commons.”

Daniel Rasti, Moordown St John’s Primary School, Bournemouth, said: “My MP is very intelligent and he is dressed smartly.  He sorts out problems and travels around to do this.  I’ve chose a man because I’ve never seen any women in parliament.”

Ruben, Middle Street Primary School, Brighton, said: “He lives in a mansion near Lewes.  A chauffeur drives him around in a Peugeot.  He has a 5 year old son and a 2 year old daughter.”

Billy, Middle Street Primary School, Brighton, said: “His name’s John.  He’s single and has two children.  He lives privately.  He doesn’t have a car.  He isn’t rich, he isn’t poor.  He lives in a big house in Brighton.  He’s happy and kind.  He tries to help people.”

Aliyah Phillips, St Philip's CE Primary School, Manchester, said: “My MP lives in a massive house.”
Samuel Adewusi: “My MP lives in a posh fancy house and he's rich. And he drives an Austin Martin.”

Ends

For more information contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission Media Office on 020 3117 0255, out of hours 07767 272 818.

Notes to editors

Male portraits:  65 of the 87 (75 per cent or three in four)

Female portraits: 22 of 87 (25 percent or one in four)

Ethnic portraits: 8 of 87 (9 per cent)

Well off: 31 of 87 (36 per cent or slightly more than one in three)

• Parliament is made up of 19.5% women and 2.32% ethnic minorities. (Source: House of Commons 2008)
• The Speaker’s Conference in November 2008 was asked to consider and make recommendations on how to get more women, people from ethnic minorities and disabled people into the House of Commons. It has until the end of Parliament to conduct its inquiry (April / May 2010). The Commission’s initial response recommended that the Speaker’s Conference considers the routes people take to get into elected office to identify common barriers. Further recommendations will be made by the Commission based on research due to be published this autumn.
• The Commission is a statutory body established under the Equality Act 2006, which took over the responsibilities of Commission for Racial Equality, Disability Rights Commission and Equal Opportunities Commission.  It is the independent advocate for equality and human rights in Britain.  It aims to reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people, and promote and protect human rights.  The Commission enforces equality legislation on age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender status, and encourage compliance with the Human Rights Act.  It also gives advice and guidance to businesses, the voluntary and public sectors, and to individuals.